<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>Who Are You, Really? by psychotraumatic</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29801595">Who Are You, Really?</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/psychotraumatic/pseuds/psychotraumatic'>psychotraumatic</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>EXO (Band), SEVENTEEN (Band)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alcohol, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Ambiguous/Open Ending, Drugging, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, Infidelity, M/M, NHEV, No Happy Ending Fest, Obsession, Stalking</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-03-05</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-03-05</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-15 17:35:39</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,411</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29801595</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/psychotraumatic/pseuds/psychotraumatic</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>I don't have anything to prove, nothing to lose. So I'll bare my teeth for you.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Oh Sehun/Yoon Jeonghan</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>No Happy Ending Fest - 2020</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Who Are You, Really?</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p><b>Prompt #:</b> R5-202<br/><b>Prompt:</b> can you explain why you have my picture?<br/><b>Pairing/Main Characters:</b> Sehun/Jeonghan<br/><b>Side Characters:</b> Chanyeol, Kai<br/><b>Word Count:</b> 2411<br/><b>Warning(s)/Additional Tag(s):</b> Implied Infidelity, Implied Drug Use, Stalking<br/><b>Author's note:</b> Many thanks to the NHE mods for allowing non-EXO characters into the fest. Who would've thought this fest will be what would make me write my crack ship again? LOL</p><p>To the prompter, thank you for biting the bullet and sending this prompt to NHE. This may be on the other end of the spectrum of what you were expecting plot-wise, but I hope you like my interpretation nonetheless.</p><p>Title and summary inspired by Mikky Ekko.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>He raises a hand with as much grace as possible, fingers hovering over a delicate cheek, second-guessing if his desire to touch the other is worth the disturbance. It doesn’t take long for him to throw caution to the wind, gently tracing random patterns against soft skin. His gaze travels across the other’s features. From the wisps of hair grazing his beloved’s forehead, the thick lashes resting against the top of his cheeks, the elegant nose, the parted pink lips — Sehun commits them all to his memory.</p><p>
  <em> How the hell did I get so lucky? </em>
</p><p>Sehun sighs in contentment as he continues to watch the other sleep. He’d revel in this moment forever if he could.</p><p>Unfortunately, the rapidfire buzzing of his phone demands for his attention. With as much energy as he could muster, Sehun pulls away to check the barrage of notifications on the device.</p><p></p><blockquote>
  <p>
    <em>Are you free? </em>
  </p>
  <p>
    <em> When is he ever? </em>
  </p>
  <p>
    <em> Shut up, Jongin. I’m not asking you. </em>
  </p>
  <p>
    <em> The fact that he’s not even reading messages since last week should already say something, Chanyeol. </em>
  </p>
  <p>
    <em> Well… you never know. It could be one of those rare times. </em>
  </p>
  <p>
    <em> Rare? Like what… 1 out of the 50 times we asked? </em>
  </p>
  <p>
    <em> It’s probably more like 100, but thanks for the vote of confidence, I guess? </em>
  </p>
</blockquote><p>Sehun shakes his head at his friends’ banter, amusement decorating his features as he read one message after the other. He admits to wincing in guilt that his friends are keeping tabs on his absence in their lives. He didn’t realize it had been that long since he checked in with them, much less actually spent time together.</p><p>Sehun looks back at the image his sleeping beloved makes, weighing the pros and cons of leaving him behind. As much as he enjoys their time together, Sehun knows he needs to balance his relationships. It’s just the fear of the unknown that’s holding him back, that something can happen when he’s not around.</p><p></p><blockquote>
  <p>
    <em>He read the messages!!! </em>
  </p>
  <p>
    <em> ...and left us on seen. </em>
  </p>
</blockquote><p>The two new bubbles, annoying as they may be, made the decision for him. They are his best friends. If anything, he could at least show up for some signs of life. Sure, he won’t be around to keep an eye on things, but too much of a good thing can be bad after all.</p><p> </p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p> </p><p>“I had doubts you’d show up until you actually went through the door.”</p><p>“Don’t be such a negative Nancy, Jongin,” Chanyeol playfully chastised. “When Sehun says he’s doing something, he does it.”</p><p>“Are you implying that I’m lazy?”</p><p>“I haven’t even sat down and you’ve already started,” Sehun quips with a shake of his head. “Can you tone down the sexual tension?”</p><p>Chanyeol and Jongin looked ready to argue when a waitress approached their table to ask if they were ready to order.</p><p>Having arrived earlier, Chanyeol and Jongin quickly rattle off their choices. Sehun follows immediately, not even looking at the menu.</p><p>“I’ve been here before,” he says with a shrug when his friends turned confused gazes towards him.</p><p>It was a fairly new restaurant, and Sehun’s not known to be the first to try new things.</p><p>“You had time to go out before this?” Chanyeol asks, eyes squinted in scrutiny.</p><p>“I choose my battles. You two are easier to please and more understanding whenever I go on these stretches of being unavailable.”</p><p>“What the hell does that mean?” Jongin exclaims.</p><p>Sehun only smiles coyly, keeping mum as the waitress returns with their drinks.</p><p>With his friends being easy to distract, he barely made any effort in straying away from the topic, merely asking what they've been up to since they last met. Chanyeol was all too happy to talk about adopting a new puppy, taking all attention off Sehun.</p><p>He realizes later on that he's not as sneaky as he thinks when Jongin manages a peek at his wallet. Sehun had offered to pay, a small consolation for all the times he skipped out on them. Unwittingly, he had left his wallet open long enough for Jongin to determine that Sehun was keeping a picture.</p><p>"Who is that?" he points, eyes lighting up at the thought of Sehun having someone special.</p><p>It was enough to pique Chanyeol's interest, prompting him to join Jongin with his hounding.</p><p>As much as Sehun wants to keep things to himself for a little while longer, he knew there was no escaping his friends and their excitable, inquisitive, prying minds.</p><p>"He's…" Sehun pauses, stalling as his friends wait at the edge of their seats. "He's someone special to me."</p><p>"I get that," Jongin scoffs. "You only had your dog's picture in there for the longest time, even after you had to put him up for adoption. It takes someone beyond special to take Vivi's place."</p><p>"What's his name?" Chanyeol chimes in.</p><p>"Jeonghan," Sehun relents with a small smile and a softness in his voice. "His name is Jeonghan."</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Sehun still sports a smile on his face the moment he returns home. The rest of the time with Jongin and Chanyeol was spent answering questions about his burgeoning love life, where they met, how they got on, what has happened since.</p><p>It was a little cliché. Sehun owns a bar with an upstairs apartment. Jeonghan had come in with friends one night, somehow lost them, and ended up too drunk to even know his way home. Sehun offered for him to stay in his guest bedroom, or at least get some coffee to attempt sobering up. Jeonghan ended up staying the night, thanking Sehun’s hospitality with a simple breakfast of eggs and toast the next morning.</p><p>Considering how often drunken customers had been in and out of his bar, Sehun didn't really think much of Jeonghan initially. Yet fate seemed to do its trick as they kept running into each other around town. They managed to strike up conversation during a grocery run, with Sehun finding out that Jeonghan lived in a mid-rise apartment just several blocks from his bar. With the small suburb they were in, it stopped being surprising seeing each other at cafés, restaurants, laundromats, and other random establishments.</p><p>When a new restaurant opened, Sehun finally bit the bullet and had a meal with Jeonghan. Neither of them considered it a date back then, nor did they think of their other rendezvous as such. Things just fell into place naturally, and they let it be.</p><p>Sehun steps into his bedroom to find Jeonghan smiling at him, probably amused at his obvious giddiness.</p><p>"Well, they know about you now," Sehun says with a shrug. "They already think you're probably too good for me after replacing Vivi in my wallet."</p><p>It's the image of Jeonghan bent at the waist and laughing that he sees next.</p><p>"I know," Sehun whines. "It’s ridiculous for anyone to think that a dog will win over you. You're too pretty."</p><p>Sehun expected the annoyed glance that came next.</p><p>"I love you," he sing-songs.</p><p> </p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p> </p><p>Chanyeol had somehow conned Jongin into accompanying him to walk his dogs. The two had stopped at a café, sitting outdoors for the sake of the pups. As Chanyeol prattles on about one thing or the other, Jongin glances around to people watch. He freezes when he recognizes a face in the crowd.</p><p>Not entirely sure what to make of the situation, Jongin interrupts Chanyeol's blabbering, asking if he remembers what Sehun’s boyfriend looked like.</p><p>"Jeonghan? Yeah. It's not often Sehun shares that part of his life so I made sure to pay attention."</p><p>Jongin doesn't react to the obvious dig at him, instead, he nods his head in one direction. "Isn't that him?"</p><p>Expecting nothing out of the ordinary, Chanyeol lazily turns his gaze to wherever Jongin pointed out. But the sight of Jeonghan wrapped in someone else's embrace was not a scene he wanted to see. He glances back at Jongin, both of them wide-eyed at the realization that Sehun's boyfriend was cheating on him.</p><p>"We have to tell him," Jongin says.</p><p>"I'm not making that call," Chanyeol says with trepidation. "You know how scary he gets when he's angry about something."</p><p>"I'd rather we do it now than wait for when he's in too deep. Sure, he's smitten, but their relationship couldn't be longer than a year, and that includes the month and a half since we found out. Heartbreak seems inevitable considering Jeonghan’s over there locking lips with someone else."</p><p>Chanyeol takes that chance to snap pictures of Jeonghan caught in flagrante with someone else. Noticing the action, Jongin opens a chat window to deliver the news.</p><p></p><blockquote>
  <p>
    <em>We have something to tell you. </em>
  </p>
</blockquote><p>Chanyeol then begins uploading the photos into their chat, sending an <em> I'm sorry </em>at the end.</p><p>They see the messages go from having the label <em> Delivered </em> to <em> Seen </em>. With bated breath, they wait for Sehun to reply. They weren't expecting the message that came next.</p><p></p><blockquote>
  <p>
    <em>I know. </em>
  </p>
</blockquote><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p> </p><p>Sehun hates the fact that his friends found out Jeonghan and his deception. In hindsight, he hates the fact that they found out about Jeonghan in the first place. Because now, Sehun has no way of escaping their pitying eyes the next time they see each other.</p><p>He was a fool to think things will change.</p><p>It wasn't the first time Jeonghan has been out with someone else, not news to him that he was loved up with another. He's seen it with his own eyes how Jeonghan will flash his sweet smile to get his way, how he'll take someone else to all the spots they shared, how he's making new memories and replacing the ones with Sehun without a hint of remorse. But for Sehun's selfish pride, he'll do anything to keep their love alive, including lie to himself.</p><p>But now that Jongin and Chanyeol have caught him in the act, Sehun finally decides that his relationship with Jeonghan has to end.</p><p> </p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p> </p><p>Sehun smirks when he sees Jeonghan sidle up to the bar as if nothing was wrong, a seemingly innocent smile pulling at his lips as he says his greetings and places an order.</p><p>"I'm shocked you're alone," he deadpans.</p><p>Jeonghan was either slow or didn't care, casually explaining that he wanted to have fun by himself for a change. "Save for your company and your excellent drinks, of course," he adds.</p><p>Sehun scoffs at that, but he decides to play nice for a while and let Jeonghan do whatever he wanted, waiting for the perfect time for them to finally have a discussion.</p><p>He doesn't really pay attention to how much Jeonghan consumes or what he puts in the drinks, whether it was from him or the other bartender on duty. Perhaps it was his petty vengeance for all the times Jeonghan didn't care about what he was doing. But when Sehun comes back to the bar after saying hello to some regular patrons, he finds Jeonghan slumped against the bar and looking completely out of it.</p><p>"Sorry," the bartender shrugs. "I didn't realize your friend was a lightweight. I was so sure I've seen him drink more than that, but I guess it's one of those days for him. Do you need help taking him upstairs?"</p><p>Sehun dismisses him with a wave of his hand. "I got him."</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Despite the deadweight in his arms, Sehun manages to take Jeonghan to his upstairs apartment with no incident. He huffs tiredly when the other is finally resting on his bed. He was hoping they'd be able to finally talk things through, but Sehun knows he has a while to wait.</p><p>In a few strides, Sehun finds his way to his work desk, in front of a wall peppered with still images that captured moments of better times. He feels the phantom knife wedged in his heart twist and sink deeper now that he finally accepts how everything was just a charade.</p><p>With a defeated sigh, he pulls at a chair, dragging it over to his bedside. He slumps into the seat and heaves another deep breath, eyes roaming Jeonghan's prone form in a move to commit this image to his memory. He knows it's the last peaceful moment he'll have.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Jeonghan wakes up disoriented, vision blurry as he barely makes out Sehun's slumped form. "What time is it?" he asks, voice hoarse with sleep.</p><p>"Late," Sehun replies flatly, "or early, depending on how you want to look at it."</p><p>Jeonghan's brows furrow as he tries to make sense of how he got there. Though Sehun has allowed him to stay in his apartment before, he was well aware of the events that led him there. All he had this time was a head of confusion.</p><p>When Jeonghan tries to sit up, he finds out he can't move.</p><p>Panic strikes as the feeling of bounds around his wrists and ankles dig into his skin. Jeonghan snaps his head back to Sehun, hoping the fear in his eyes doesn't provoke the other to do something unspeakable.</p><p>The shock of his predicament forced clarity into Jeonghan's mind, eyes focusing on Sehun and farther beyond him. He can feel Sehun's gaze on him as he stares at the wall, mouth opening and closing as the realization that this was planned dawns on him.</p><p>"Why do you have pictures of me?"</p><p>"Because you're beautiful," Sehun replies, a sickening sweetness in his tone, "and I love you."</p><p>Jeonghan's voice shakes as he points out that they barely even know each other.</p><p>"But I know all about you."</p><p>Jeonghan's blood runs cold as Sehun recites information about him that only those closest to him would know, his likes and dislikes, his odd habits and everyday activities. Frighteningly enough, Sehun continues with intimate knowledge about Jeonghan's body and wanton desires, the way he sounds when he peaks, the way he loves leaving scratches up and down the back of his partner.</p><p>Jeonghan forces himself to look back at the pictures, trying to determine when they had been taken. He notices different hair colors and lengths. By his calculations, they had been taken throughout the two years he's been acquainted with the bar owner. Jeonghan fears for his life even more.</p><p>"You're crazy."</p><p>"I know."</p><p>Sehun doesn't offer anything else after that, letting a tense silence fall between them. After what felt like eternity, Jeonghan somehow musters up the courage to ask another question.</p><p>"What do you want with me?"</p><p>"If I can't have you, no one can."</p><p> </p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I'm hoping the tags didn't give the plot away immediately, but I would love to know what everyone thinks. ;)</p></blockquote></div></div>
</body>
</html>